Gigantopithecus

(redirected from Giganthopithec)

Gigantopithecus

a genus of large fossil anthropoid apes that inhabited the southern and southeastern regions of the Asian continent in the Middle Anthropogenic. Four lower jaws have been found and over 1,000 separate teeth. The teeth are very large, especially the molars, which are six times the size of the corresponding molars in humans. The body of the Gigantopithecus was larger than that of man. Judging from some evidence of dentition (especially the relatively small canine teeth), it was closer to man than to contemporary anthropoid apes. On this basis, some researchers considered Gigantopithecus to be an ancestor of man and advanced the so-called gigantoid theory of the origin of man, which, however, was never accepted.

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